Once Upon a Time
Real Writing on Racing 💯
*Reprinted from the now defunct Goingincircles blog September 2020
Once upon a time the world we lived in was far less complicated place. Believe it or not there was actually human existence before social media, before cell phones and Instagram. People read these paper things called books and magazines and newspapers. You believed what you saw broadcast on the evening news. Fake news and twitter hadn’t been invented yet and political positions such as President and Governor and Senator were still very much respected.
All across the lower forty eight states the most popular spectator sport was horse racing, more people attended horse races than any other sport in America. It seems almost impossible to comprehend if you have been to a weekday card of races at a place not named Keeneland or Saratoga or Del Mar at some point in the last decade but it’s a true story, not fake news at all.
Racing itself was much different back in those quieter times as well. There were no syndicates or partnership groups of thousands of so-called owners. The racetracks themselves were mostly run by families or trusts and actually focused on horses not slots or shopping malls or whatever else tracks seem to place above racing these days.
A forty horse stable was considered a large outfit, trainers generally trained at one track, on one circuit. And the horses? They were called racehorses for a reason as they raced and they raced a lot. A small field was eight horses, entries were coupled and a month was considered a lay-off. The grade of a race was talked about as a matter of fact thing, handicaps were still handicaps and the Belmont Fall Championship Meet actually determined championships, the battle ground where many titles and Eclipse Awards were ultimately won and lost.
The purpose of waxing poetically here isn’t to just reminisce about the good old days. No the reason that these words were put to paper (taking literary license) is to convey an incredible season of a single, uniquely great horse and the folly in trying to find modern day comparisons.
A Season to Remember
The curmudgeons would have you mistakenly believing that every classic race of the past was an overflow field, full of hall of fame level horses which most certainly is a false premise. As a matter of fact one of the most famous races of the bygone era was a grade 1, single horse exhibition that wrapped up an incredible and unmatched season and a brilliant career.
The race was the 1980 Woodward Stakes, the career was Spectacular Bid’s and the tour de force that was his his age four campaign is unlikely to ever be seen again. The reasons are many but what can’t be expressed strongly enough was the sheer dominance that he displayed over a very solid group of older horses.
We aren’t going to rehash Spectacular Bid’s entire career here. Peter Lee wrote an excellent book Spectacular Bid: The Last Superhorse of the Twentieth Century which covers his entire life, from foaling to retirement. No we are only going to focus on 1980, starting on January 5th at Santa Anita and ending on September 20th at Belmont Park.
The Malibu at Santa Anita is now a grade 1 race that is a closing point, serving as the years final graded stakes restricted to three year olds. In 1980 it was a seasons opener, kicking off the year as the opening leg of a prestigious series of races called the Strub Series restricted to four year olds. The Malibu was a grade 2 race in those days and trainer Bud Delp used it to sharpen up the Bid whose previous race had been the Meadowlands Cup back in October when he had romped over older rivals in track record time.
Facing four other rivals that 5th day of January, including the outstanding colt Flying Paster, Spectacular Bid under 126 pounds including legendary jockey Bill Shoemaker made short work of the group. Sweeping up four wide on the turn, the Bid rolled past the field under minimal urging from Shoemaker, crossing the wire five lengths in front in a blazing 1.20 which set a new track record for 7 furlongs. Flying Paster rallied to be second though no match for the winner, which along with broken track records will prove to be a common occurrence throughout the 1980 campaign.
The San Fernando Stakes was run two weeks later on January 19th and only drew a four horse field as no one was all that eager to test Spectacular Bid. Relaunch, a fast, almost white son of In Reality who had won the Del Mar Derby and La Jolla stakes as a three year old joined the fray and Flying Paster was back for more. Run over a heavy track listed as good, Relaunch, who was back on 6 days rest after finishing a solid 2nd against older horses in the San Carlos Stakes, went to the lead in the early stages and was setting reasonable fractions which seemed to force Shoemakers hand. He made a bold run down the backside to engage and pass the pace setting Relaunch while Flying Paster was content to sit back and make one late run. Bid looked to be cruising as usual passing the quarter pole at the head of the lane but Flying Paster made a menacing run at him as the rumbled down the home stretch. After an excited track announcer Dave Johnson proclaimed, “Flying Paster flying on the outside second” Shoemaker did something that he had rarely done to Bid. He used the stick on him, five left handed strikes that seemed to motivate Spectacular Bid as he drew away in the final yards to win by only a length and a half while Paster was 15 lengths in front of Relaunch who was third. No one knew it that day but that was the last time any horse would even remotely threaten to defeat Spectacular Bid.
The Charles H. Strub Stakes was first run in 1948. Named after Santa Anita’s founder and owner, the mile and a quarter, grade one race had been won by many great horses over the years including Round Table, Crimson Satan, Ancient Title and in 1979 the Triple Crown winning Affirmed. The 1980 version however was unlike anything else that the venerable racetrack in Arcadia had ever seen before or since. With the good horse Valdez joining Relaunch and Flying Paster in the starting gate opposing the Bid, the scene was set for a wild race once the gates doors opened. Relaunch bolted to the lead, running off on the lead with Flying Paster and Valdez chasing as a team and the Bid content to sit last going into the first turn. Over a lighting fast racing strip, Relaunch set insane fractions of 22 and 44.3 to the half, opening up a 9 length lead. Shoemaker guided Bid to the inside on the first turn while moving up past Valdez who worked hard to keep up as Paster dropped back a few lengths. The Bid who was two wide and Valdez who was three wide moved towards Relaunch as they headed down the backside towards the three-quarter pole. As they moved past that marker in 108.2 Valdez was having a hard time matching strides as Bid and Relaunch briefly dueled till midway on the final turn when Bid began to pull away. At this point Flying Paster was making his patented run and for a moment it looked like we would be having another stretch duel like in the San Fernando. This time however Shoemaker asked Spectacular Bid earlier, passing the quarter pole and he powered away from Flying Paster while maintaining the unbelievably fast fractions. He stopped the timer in a stakes, track and world record 157.4, records that still stand today, forty years later. The official margin was 3 1/4 lengths and the comment in the official chart was ‘handy score’ and Bid carried 126 pounds once again giving five pounds to the runner up. The Strub was run on February 3rd, just 34 days into the new year Spectacular Bid had already won three races, sweeping the Strub series, set two track records and a world record. Yet the most important race of the Spring was still a month away.
Handicaps and packing on the weight
In the days before the Dubai World Cup and Pegasus, the biggest, richest and most prestigious race for older horses in the United States in the early part of the year was the Big Cap, the Santa Anita Handicap. Seabiscuit, Round Table, Ack Ack, Cougar II, Affirmed, John Henry, Broad Brush, Alysheba, Best Pal, Tiznow and Lava Man are some of the famous winners of this illustrious race that was traditionally the highlight of the Santa Anita Winter meet. In 1980 Spectacular Bid was assigned to carry 130 pounds in his first foray into handicap racing as an older horse. He would be giving significant weight to his rivals including 7 pounds to rival Flying Paster and 8 pounds to the speedy Beau’s Eagle. Handicaps have decreased importance in American racing today unlike the 80’s and era’s prior but this is where a horse like Spectacular Bid has a big edge when comparing him to modern stars.
Like most of his 4 year old season, Shoemaker allowed him to settle in the early stages as Beau’s Eagle set the pace over a sloppy track. Down the backstretch Shoemaker asked Bid to move up into a stalking position just as he had in his three previous races over the Santa Anita surface. Flying Paster was glued to his outside flank as they ran past Beau’s Eagle turning for home. When Shoemaker asked him for speed at the eighth pole, Bid accelerated away from the others to score by 5 lengths in 200.3. The chart comment said ‘ridden out’ and he was not only 4 for 4 on the year but clearly the dominant horse racing in America.
Trainer Bud Delp gave his horse a little breather after the Big Cap romp and didn’t enter him again till May 18 when the racing scene had moved crosstown to Hollywood Park. Next up was the grade 2 Mervyn LeRoy handicap going 1 1/16 where he was handed a weight assignment of 132 pounds. Flying Paster was back once again but he didn’t fire and finished a distant fourth, seemingly the effort extracted from chasing Bid all winter had taken its toll. Sent off at 1-5, Bid cruised to a 7 length win in a sizzling 140.2 while conceding 13 pounds to the runner up Peregrinator.
His next start was also at Hollywood Park and thus concluded his California domination as he dusted 6 other rivals under 130 pounds in the grade 1 Californian Stakes setting a track record of 145.4 for the 9 furlong distance. The chart comment for the race was ‘easy score’ and as he strolled across the wire, it seemed to be the perfect description.
Heading East
Delp was having some issues with Bids ankles from training and racing on the fast California track surfaces so they packed up and went on the road with him. His next race was July 19 at Arlington Park, located in the western suburbs of Chicago, in the Washington Park Handicap which was a grade 3 race going 1 1/8. Under threats by Delp of skipping the race if he was weighted too heavily, Bid was assigned 130 pounds while facing five other mostly overmatched rivals. He won by 10 and despite barely breaking a sweat, set yet another track record covering the 9 furlongs in 146.1 with the win being described as ‘easily’.
The final race of his summer campaign came in the Armory Haskell, a grade 1 at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. Hold on you are probably saying, isn’t the Haskell a three year old race? Well it wasn’t always the race it is today which is a mid-July invitational for three year olds, essentially the first big post-triple crown race for those horses. Back in 1980 Monmouth also had a handicap race that was called the Haskell Handicap as well as the Haskell Invitational. Spectacular Bid was assigned 132 pounds by the racing secretary to face a field of 7 other horses including the star European mare Glorious Song who was in at 117. The 1-10 betting choice was content to sit at the back of the pack in 7th during the first half mile of the race. Shoemaker angled Bid to the 5 path heading down the backstretch and made his move on the leaders heading into the final turn. Glorious Song was also on the move and she got the jump on Spectacular Bid moving to the lead three wide heading towards the top of the stretch. Shoemaker asked for and got the amazing acceleration that Spectacular Bid possessed and despite giving up 15 pounds to his rival, he quickly closed ground on the filly straightening up into the stretch. Under light urging Bid pulled away to win by 1 3/4 described officially as ‘ridden out’. No one knew at the time but it was to be his last actual race.
Spectacular Bid was assigned 136 pounds in the Marlboro Cup and Delp balked at what he felt was an extreme jump from 132. He decided to skip the race and shoot for the Woodard and Jockey Club Gold Cup which weren’t handicaps but weight for age races in which he would carry 126. The Woodward was scheduled to be a very short field and when entires were to be drawn, no one else decided to take him on. Temperance Hill was among the nominations yet his trainer Joe Cantey passed because he was trying to win votes for three year old of the year and figured getting beat 20 lengths on national television probably would not help his chances. Imagine these days an older horse so good that the trainers of Tiz the Law and Authentic would fear getting beat 20 lengths by him?
So on September 20, 1980 in between the 7th and 8th races Spectacular Bid and Bill Shoemaker stepped foot onto the Belmont track surface, the scene of his most bitter defeat, alone. The 1980 Woodward was a bet-less exhibition race called a walkover. There hadn’t been a walkover in a major race since 1949 when Coaltown, the horse of the year that season ran unopposed in a stakes race at a long defunct track called Havre De Grace. Shoemaker just sat motionless aboard the great gray as he cruised around the huge oval in 202.2, adding $73000 to his tab, finishing his career with earnings of $2773557.
He was supposed to run for the last time in the Jockey Club Gold Cup but he was a late scratch due to those ankles acting up again but that’s just a footnote in history now, forty years later. The lasting image of him waltzing around the empty track at Belmont, the final star from the 70’s era of super horses, is the one that endures. That final season of racing cemented his greatness and standing in the pantheon of the best that ever did it. That final race…the cherry on top of the best season of racing that any modern horse ever had, Spectacular Bid raced into immortality by himself.
9 races. 9 wins. 4 track records. 1 world record (still standing). Easily. Drew clear. Handy score. Ridden out. Ridden out. Easy Score. Easily. Ridden out. In hand. From 7 furlongs to 1 1/4. Five tracks. West coast. Midwest. East coast. Fast track. Good track. Sloppy track. Walk over.
That one season would be an amazing career on its own but let’s not forget that we didn’t even bring up his four Eclipse awards or being named champion at ages two, three and four. Or winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness or Marlboro Cup at age three. Setting 8 track records at 7 different tracks from 5 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/4. About winning 14 grade 1 races.
It’s a shame if you missed it because there won’t ever be another Spectacular Bid…but now you know.
